


Barton, Make a Move or I Will

by stonerstark



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Marvel Avengers Movies Universe, The Avengers (2012)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, F/F, F/M, Gen, M/M, Science Boyfriends, Teen Romance, Werewolf!Bruce
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-08-09
Updated: 2013-06-17
Packaged: 2017-11-11 19:26:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 13,298
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/482054
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stonerstark/pseuds/stonerstark
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Avengers at Hogwarts ! Quidditch, shenanigans, parties, midnight trips to the kitchen, rumors.<br/>Stories sometimes focus on pairings, but sometimes don't.<br/>Bruce has a secret and Tony keeps it jealously. Steve got really popular over the summer and doesn't understand why (Bucky says it's the growth spurt and the fact that he's Gryffindor's star Quidditch player). Coulson is just trying to get by but really.. he gets involved in way too much drama, and Headmaster Nick Fury wonders what he did in a previous life to deserve all these motherfuckers in his motherfucking school.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> Hi ! First of all, thanks for reading this ! I'd just like to say some things before getting on with the story. First, I'm french - and this is unbeta'd. Don't run away - I'm pretty much fluent as you can see. But if you like the story and want to be my Beta then by all means don't be shy and message me because I'd very much like one. Now that this has been said.. I'd like to say that all the characters will be introduced, but not as the same time. That the chapters will sometimes focus a lot on the ships and others won't.. I can't think of anything else so I'll end this note there. on with the story, hope you enjoy it !

"Bruce. Wake up. Bruce. BRUCE."  
  
Bruce sprang into consciousness, barely repressing a (very manly) shriek of fear, but kept his eyes firmly shut. What was happening? In a matter of seconds his left hand had gone for his glasses and his right for the wand he kept under his pillow. He could feel a weight on his left. He opened his eyes to the "sweet" sight of Tony Stark's smiling face hovering over his own - it actually explained the weight since he was probably sat (or sprawled) on his bed besides him.  
Bruce just wanted to go back to sleep.  
  
"What time is it and what do you want?" he half whispered half-mumbled, going for an exasperated tone without succeeding.  
  
"It's exactly 4 in the morning, and I need sustenance."  
  
"You need what!?"  
  
"Food. Spiced chicken wings. Tacos. Apple pie. Treacle tart. Pumpkin juice. Also some coffee."  
  
"But it's four am!"  
  
"Exactly. C’mon, Grumpy, it'll be fun!"  
  
"No. We're going to lose House points and everyone is going to hate us, and we're going to get detention."  
  
"But I'm hungry!" said Tony, a little too loudly. They both frowned.  
  
It was the middle of the night, and the six other students in the dormitory were fast asleep (and if they weren't, well, they weren't making themselves known and therefore didn't count). Tony looked like a lunatic, Bruce thought.  
  
"You're worse than a pregnant woman with your cravings, you know that?" he whispered.  
  
"I'm not on my cycle Bruce... therefore I need food," Tony answered seriously.  
  
"I'm going back to sleep," scowled Bruce.  
  
"Nope!" simply said Tony before giving him a shit-eating grin and pulling the blankets off his body, throwing his pillow away as well. Bruce pushed Tony away in return, almost making him fall off the four-poster bed, and they ended up wrestling like children for a while in (relative) silence. In the end, Tony grabbed Bruce, and they both ended up lying on the cold, unforgiving floor, one sprawled beside the other.  
  
And really it was the point of Tony's plan all along, but Bruce was so very much awake that he felt like there wasn't much point in trying to go back to sleep. So he sighed and got up on his feet, and Tony did the same, except that Tony was smiling like a madman who hadn't gotten any sleep in the past 28 hours, and Bruce was still a mess of grumpiness and curls.  
  
And while Tony was fully clothed - black pants and Muggle hoodie with a Muggle band on it - Bruce was in his boxers.  
  
"You never told me that you slept in your boxers" grinned Tony. Bruce was freezing and wanted to rip that smile off his face. "You know, I think Hogwarts would benefit from you walking around without a shirt more often."  
  
"I'm not walking around, you dragged me off my fucking bed, and besides, I'm pretty sure no one would benefit from seeing my scar."  
  
And a scar he had, indeed. A single, but big, bite mark, on the right side of his body - you could still imagine the bottom teeth digging at the top of his hip, the upper teeth on his lower ribs. A dog bite, to anyone who asked. Being Muggle-born, Bruce knew it could pass. But nobody ever asked, for rare were the people who'd ever seen it. Tony was one of them, but he knew the truth, so it was different.  
  
"Duh, you would get ladies all over you. They love that kind of thing."  
  
"Whatever, pass me some clothes" grumbled Bruce, sat on the side of his bed.  
  
"Only because you're my favourite, Grumpy" said Tony before throwing him a hoodie and some pants.  
  
Being a bit taller, and a bit broader on the shoulders than Tony, the hoodie clung to him like a second skin - Tony didn't seem to mind at all. (Sometimes Bruce wondered how, and when, their friendship had started to become... this. He had yet to success in pinpointing the exact moment, but wasn't giving up by any means.)  
  
"Let's go get your fucking food"  
  
Tony trusted his fist in the air in victory while whooping with glee.  
  
"You guys shut the fuck up or I'm getting Coulson to kick your stupid asses!" said an unknown, grumpy voice in the shadows somewhere in the room. Bruce muffled his laugh into an awkward cough and let himself get dragged by the wrist.  
They got out of the Fifth Year male dormitory, tried not to make any noise while going down the stairs (Bruce was silent, Tony... a little less so), before crossing the Ravenclaw Common Room, getting down the spiral staircase that led to it. Five floors to go, Bruce thought.  
  
"What about the Prefects though? They must be patrolling... and we have school at 9 o'clock tomorrow..."  
  
"Bruce, Bruce, Bruce... first my luck is legendary, se-"  
  
"By legendary you mean you always get caught right?!"  
  
"It's mean to interrupt, Bruce - second, if we meet anyone, officially you woke up feeling extremely bad and I, being the generous and ideal student that I am, decided to take you to the Hospital Wing."  
  
"Sure. Like that's gonna work. Tony Stark on a 4 am stroll to take his fellow Ravenclaw down to the Hospital Wing."  
  
"Good to see you agree with me."  
  
"I was being sarcas-"  
  
"Whatever, we've got five floors to go through, well, six since the kitchen is in the basement, remind me why we stopped again!? Move your werewolf ass."  
  
"You dodged my question about us having class tomorrow."  
  
"It wasn't even a question and therefore didn't require my attention," he said before starting to walk again.  
  
Bruce sneered but followed Tony anyway.  
  
Fortunately, they didn't meet anybody on their way down, and didn't get caught.  
  
Hogwarts at night was a sight that Bruce always enjoyed, despite it being a little creepy. There weren't any torches lit, so they had to use their wands if they wanted to see where they were going. And it was eerily calm, so quiet that the only thing you could actually hear was the noise of your feet on the ancient stone-paved ground - that and your breath, and the pounding of your heart. You could see the night sky outside the windows if you passed any,  
the moon shining over the lake, if you were passing by the right side of the castle. Those kinds of things.  
  
Tony, once in the basement, actually wanted to pay a visit to Clint ("to scare the shit out of him, come on it will be LEGENDARY") in his Hufflepuff dormitory. Bruce convinced him that it wasn't a good idea, and surprisingly enough he dropped it.  
  
So here they were, in the kitchen, right under the Great Hall. The ceiling was high, the atmosphere warm; there were dimly lit fires in the chimneys, and the room smelled wonderful. Some of the elves were actually cleaning when they arrived, the others being probably asleep somewhere else, but as soon as they saw the two students, they gathered around them and offered them all sorts of food, as they usually did. The fact that it was so early in the morning (or so late during the night) didn't seem to faze them in any way; they seemed glad to be visited. Tony had been there more than a couple of times, and some of the house elves apparently knew him. He gently asked for some apple pie, butterbeer and coffee, all while being very polite. One of the things that had always fascinated Bruce was how kind Tony could be when he wanted to. The food was quickly brought to him by two elves apparently very eager to please.  
  
Soon Tony and Bruce were invited to sit down by the chimneys on comfortable armchairs. The house elves were happily babbling and Tony was stuffing himself with food - he'd now gotten hold of some chicken, Bruce didn't want to ask how, when, or why - and seemed at peace. He looked tired, but other than that, well.  
  
Bruce guessed he probably looked the same, right now - weary but peaceful.  
  
It seemed ridiculous, this four am trip to the kitchen, now that he actually thought about it. But those were the odds of being friend with Tony Stark, you never knew what could happen, Bruce mused. He realized without any surprise that he didn't mind.  
  
Then, he remembered he had class in a few hours and sighed. Okay, maybe he did mind a bit after all.


	2. Chapter Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys ! Thanks for the reviews, bookmarks, kudos, I genuinely appreciate it. I'm currently writing Chapter THree (I guess that's a good thing !). It's around 2 am right now I don't have much to say.. hmm.. this chapter is beta'd because I know have one, yay ! It's also longer than Chapter One. And, some characters are introduced. I hope you'll enjoy !

Tony slowly opened his eyes... and immediately sensed that something was off. It wasn't the fact that there was another body beside him - it might have been but it wasn't - he'd be back on that later - his mind was a complicated, several-tracks thing. No, the light seemed wrong.  
Of all the things that should have seemed wrong about the whole situation (Bruce lying really close to him, Tony's arm draped over him), it was the light.

Natural light. Sunshine. Shining through the windows. Shining really hard. Shining way too hard for 7:30 am, even for 8 o'clock. This was all wrong.

Then it dawned on him. The silence.

Ravenclaws weren't loud. You could say everything you wanted about them being annoying or bossy or whatever; they weren't loud. But they weren't really silent either. You could tell when someone else was in the dormitory. This wasn't normal. So Ravenclaws were annoying, bossy, sometimes stuck up and quiet. What they definitely were, though, on top of that, was sadistic, mean little shits.

So maybe he and Bruce had made some noise at 4 am. And maybe they'd made some noise too at 6 am when they got back from the kitchen. There might have been giggling. And swear words. Actually there might have been both of that when Tony unexpectedly pushed Bruce towards his bed, making him trip and land on it face first. (Oh Tony loved it when Bruce laughed. That wasn't the point, though.)

It wasn't a reason for all of them to let them oversleep, therefore making them miss class, therefore making them get detention on top of the missed lessons and homework to catch up with.

So Tony reluctantly drew his arm from under the blankets to look at his watch.

11 am.

Oh this was just great. Really great. Awesome. Bruce was going to be really, really pissed at him if Tony woke him up now. Pissed about the time, and the fact that Tony was currently crashing his bed, and the fact that there was no point in arriving 20 minutes late at best to Transfiguration.

While old McGonagall liked Bruce (well, as much as McGonagall could like any of her students), she didn't like Tony, and would never accept them in her class late.

Knowing and acknowledging all that, naturally, Tony scooted closer to Bruce, squeezed his eyes shut again, yawned, and accorded himself 15 more minutes. Because what was done was done. So it didn't matter.

(And when Bruce, faking sleep as well, leaned a little more into Tony, well that didn't matter either. Right?)

* * *

15 minutes later, Tony woke up Bruce. He was confused, which was understandable, and hungry, which was also understandable, and a number of other things, but he wasn't angry or exasperated or anything of the kind.

Actually, he'd just sighed and admitted that they'd both needed that sleep (especially Tony), and that class was less important. Being the brilliant students they were, they could miss morning classes - but just this time.

Tony had whooped appreciatively and patted him on the cheek and then they'd gotten dressed, which ended up with Tony untucking Bruce's shirt from his pants and loosening his tie. Because otherwise he just looked too much like a fucking Ravenclaw dork.

They'd get downstairs just in time for lunch.

* * *

It was to be expected; Clint Barton was the first to creep on them, doing so before they even sat down at their table in the Great Hall.

"Man, you're so in trouble" he said to Tony, clapping him on the shoulder with glee, making him jump. "Hi, Bruce! So, yeah, Tony - you and Bruce missed Care of Magical Creatures, and History of Magic, but you know how the teachers are so it's not much of a big deal. But you also and more importantly missed Transfiguration and McGonagall was so very, very pissed, she gave you both two hours of detention and took 20 points from Ravenclaw. I'm not trying to be harsh but I think the whole House hates you right now."

Of course the fact that Tony was in trouble made him happy. They had this strange kind of friendship where the deeper the other was in the shit, the better.

"Barton, you get so many detentions and make your House lose so many points, I think you're more likely to be hated by every single Hufflepuff than me by every single Ravenclaw," sneered Tony.

"Actually no, Hufflepuff don't give a fuck about points -"

"That's because you're all dumb"

"- and anyway, I'm a star Quidditch player and you're not."

"Don't go there, buddy, because I'm Tony Stark and-"

"Whatever, so yeah, you Starks shit gold, you're just jealous that everyone loves me, and even more jealous of the fact that everyone loves Steve because-"

A feminine voice intervened.

"Wow, what a pleasure to see you, Tony, glad to see you haven't vanished from the surface of the Earth." It was Pepper. Only she could sound so sarcastic while being genuinely saying hello. "And please both of you cut the "mine is bigger than yours" contest. What are you, ten years old?" she added.

"Sorry, Ma'am, he's all yours" mock-saluted Clint before giving her a peck on the cheek and disappearing in the crowd. A lot of students weren't seated yet, busy as they were chatting between the tables of the Great Hall. Clint was probably off to the Hufflepuff table, or looking for Natasha, or looking for Coulson (to bother him, because it seemed to be his favourite sport these days).

"Save me, Bruce, please," stage-whispered Tony to him.

"Stop being so mean, Tony, I don't have anything more to add after what Clint said. Except that both of you are really stupid." She sounded weirdly affectionate while saying that. Pepper had always been something of a mystery anyway, and nobody really understood how she'd dated Tony for more than half of last year, before dumping his ass before summer, and yet still managed to be his conscience, one of his best friends, all while being  
pretty popular and liked by everyone.

Well, she had one of those solar personalities, and was a natural beauty - Bruce guessed that helped.

"Actually, I really tried to stop him but you know how it is-" he said tentatively.

"I wouldn't listen and I was hungry and I needed some company, you know?" continued Tony.

"More like an audience", added Bruce.

"Bruce, don't be self-depreciative, I already told you that it's bad for your health, think of it as having been chosen to help me complete an important quest"

"What quest?" asked Pepper, curious.

"The Noble Quest for Food at Four in the Morning," answered Bruce.

"That's what you get for never eating proper meals," said Pepper to Tony, nudging him in the shoulder.

"Hey, don't you both turn on me like that! Bruce you're supposed to be on my side!" he pleaded.

"Whatever, Tony, I don't have much time for you today -" she started.

"How dare you!" he said with mock indignation.

"- I'm currently trying to find Natasha, I'm having lunch with her today."

Tony rolled his eyes.

"She's a Slytherin! You're betraying the House ! You can't let Helena Ravenclaw down ! Besides, she's mean - and I'm pretty sure she killed someone when she was 10 or something-"! Besides, she's mean - and I'm pretty sure she killed someone when she was 10 or something-"

"Can it, Tony," said Bruce. "Let Pepper do whatever she wants, you're not even together anymore - plus, I'm hungry."

"Okay, fine," Tony admitted to Pepper's surprise, "let's go and eat. We've been standing there far too long anyway, people are beginning to look at us weird and shit."

"Thanks, Bruce. Anyway, I think both of you should be prepared because Coulson will probably come to see you, make a speech... possibly curse you. Also Bruce, I'll need to talk to you about something pretty soon. Oh, there's Natasha. See you later!"

She quickly walked away from them and towards the Slytherin redhead.

"Well, that was cryptic," stated Bruce once they were sat to the table and had started to fill their golden plates with tons of food.

"Yeah, you know what, it really was? She made it sound like she wanted to talk to you alone, which is weird-"

"Wow thanks a lot Tony for implying that people only like me because of you-"

"That's not what I meant, you idiot. You're a perfectly likeable person." Tony sounded serious, all of a sudden. "And yes before you ask, I really mean that, now pretend I never said that and let me continue; she made it sound like she wanted to talk to you alone, which is weird, because it means it's personal."

"That's what I thought too, yeah. She either wants to ask me something personal, or tell me something about somebody else, I guess."

"Mmmh. Will you tell me what it is?"

They looked at each other for a few seconds. Somehow, it felt like they were having one of Those Moments. Bruce looked away.

"Of course. Since I've told you about... you know what..." he suddenly became a bit anxious and looked around a bit as if anyone around the table was paying attention to what they were saying. "I don't see why I'd hide anything Pepper has to say to me. It can't be that important. Right?"

"Good. And I know you won't ask, but I'd tell you too. I mean if our roles were reversed. Because I trust you. I'd tell you."

Bruce still wasn't looking at him but Tony could see he was slightly smiling at his plate.

He also noticed the slight blush creeping up Bruce's neck, decided that he'd imagined it, and started to eat, smiling as well, both of them relishing into the noise of other conversations and clattering that filled the Great Hall.


	3. Chapter Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys ! Thanks for the reviews, kudos, ect. First, just wanted to say that chapter 4 is already half written ! Yayy ! Also, as usual, a new character is introduced, and as usual, new point of view ! If you remember last chapter, Clint Barton creeped on Tony and Bruce and then left after Pepper arrived. Well, we're following what happens to him afterward. Just so you know, I've got loads of plot bunnies, and this story is probably going to be long. with all the point of views and stuff. You're in for quite a ride ! There's nothing I like more than having a lot of characters to toy with. Enjoy !

 

Clint Barton. Who was Clint Barton?

Clint Barton was a Fifth Year Hufflepuff student. Well built, muscular, with broad shoulders, and ridiculously blue eyes.

Attractive, and very much aware of it. The best Seeker Hogwarts had seen in years.

Word was these days that he had learnt how to fly a broom before he'd learnt how to walk.

Bullshit, Clint thought while scanning the Great Hall for a very precise familiar face. He was walking through the crowd with his best low-profile, "leave me alone I don't want to deal with your shit right now" attitude. Real bullshit. Of course he'd learnt how to walk first - he'd been raised as a Muggle in a circus, for Merlin's sake. Really, people didn't know what to gossip about, these days.

"Hawkeye! Waddup, man?"

Clint forced a smile and turned around - surprised to find Bucky. His real name was actually James Buchanan Barnes, but Steve always called him Bucky, and since they were always hanging out together the nickname stuck and by their second year at Hogwarts everybody called James Barnes "Bucky".

"That's... not how you usually talk?"

"Yeah I know, just wanted to surprise you a bit," Bucky winked. "Bet you actually thought that I was one of those annoying jocks"

"I'm an annoying jock, you're an annoying jock, technically Steve is an annoying jock... we play Quidditch, dude!"

"True enough. You looking for somebody? I mean, your table is at the opposite side to where you were looking before I interrupted you."

"Yeah actually, I am, I'm looking for somebody at the Ravenclaw table..." he craned his neck to try and spot Coulson, but still nothing.

"Who?"

"Coulson - you know, the Ravenclaw prefect."

"I don't see why you'd need to find him, but I saw him like two minutes ago, he's this way," he pointed somewhere. "Well, I need to eat, so... later! Was nice to see ya." He bumped Clint on the shoulder, smiled and disappeared toward the Gryffindor table.

Within thirty seconds, Clint had spotted Coulson. Buried in a book. While eating. Very antisocial. The dude had no manners. Sometimes Clint wondered if it came with the blue and bronze Prefect badge.

(Who was Clint Barton? It didn't matter, because whoever he was, he had a very serious, very hopeless crush on Phil Coulson.)

Whatever, he thought. Time to make some noise.

"Hey, Coulson!" he pretty much yelled while walking towards him - this time with his blinding smile and attitude.

Phil Coulson jumped and raised his head so fast it was almost comical. Frowning, he rolled his eyes and made a face before getting back to his book.

Clint shook his head disapprovingly. Absolutely no manners.

There was a more urgent problem, though. Coulson was facing him. Meaning there was a table between them. And Clint wanted to sit beside him, not in front of him. Even more unfortunate, he was sat pretty much at the middle of the table, which was almost as long as the room itself. Clint didn't feel like walking half the room in one way or the other in order to sit beside him. Oh well. Less conventional ways to get there existed after all.

Clint ducked, sliding under the table, crawling a bit, and emerging beside Coulson.

Coulson carefully marked his page before looking at him in the eyes, a mildly curious look on his face.

"You know, if it weren't for Hogwarts: a History, right now I'd probably be under the impression that you just apparated besides me."

"How do you know that's not what happened?"

"I read Hogwarts: a History."

"You're such a Ravenclaw!"

"And you're not, which is why I wonder why you're here."

"Well, I'm here to make sure that you eat properly, and that you're in good company," Clint simply said.

"Aren't you supposed to be at your Quidditch practice right now, falling off your broom or something? And do you really think that you qualify as good company? Because I don't. "

Clint stuck his tongue out to him. "Very mature," mouthed Phil.

"Quidditch practice isn't on at lunch time, duh. And well you know what? I don't think your book qualifies as good company either. So," Clint took his wand out of his pocket, "there."

He flicked it, and the book closed itself and flew from his right (where Coulson was sat) to his left (where Coulson couldn't reach).

"Hey, I actually need that book. Give it back."

"Do you? Thought you were reading just for fun. And no."

"You're so funny, Barton," deadpanned Phil. "I like books, but not enough to choose them over food willingly and for no reason."

"Just enjoy the fact that since a lazy no-good Hufflepuff stole it from you, you can't physically study anymore. So you have to eat."

And with that, Clint helped himself to some food - mashed potatoes and steak - and started eating.

"I have a test, after lunch. Ancient Runes."

"Bitchy," said Clint, mouth full of food.

"Oh, charming. You're disgusting. No but, really - I need to study. I'm asking nicely; give it back."

Clint swallowed.

"I know how you are, you probably studied all night for that test, so you don't really need to study now. You're just that kind of a guy!"

Phil didn't say anything more, simply nodded and started to eat as well. Clint felt oddly accomplished. And lucky. And there was something he wanted to ask... but maybe it wasn't a good idea. Oh hell, he thought what if it was? He'd never know until he did.

"So, um, I was kinda thinking... you seem like you could use a break from all that... school stuff..." Clint mentally face-palmed, way to go, Barton, real smooth, he thought. "Would you like to come to my Quidditch practice after class ? It's at seven. Maybe if you're lucky enough I'll actually fall off my broom. It'd probably make your day."

"Actually I can't, sorry, I've got-"

"What, a test tomorrow?" Clint snapped a bit too abruptly. He felt a bit stupid, to have thought this would work. He started to ramble without really realising it. "Studying to do? Potions essay? Library time? A date with the Restricted Section? Come on, live a little, we all know you don't, and..."

He stopped, because he'd been rambling and he didn't really mean that but Coulson just didn't react to what he say and oh god, he'd hit a nerve... he really didn't mean it! He found Coulson's dedication admirable really, because he just couldn't understand it and...

"Wow, you really think highly of yourself, don't you?!" Coulson sounded bitter. "You know what my plans are? I'm tutoring Steve and Bucky on Potions and History of Magic after class. Yeah, we can't all be like you - some of us need help, most of us need to study, because we can't all rely on natural talent like you seem to do, and still be the Best Seeker Hogwarts Ever Had or whatever they call you these days. You think I try too hard? Well I think you do too, with your whole I'm Too Cool For Everyone Else attitude."

Clint felt his blood boil. He'd been so stupid. About everything.

"So you think I'm fake? Is that what you're saying? I'm fake? Well here's some news for you too, I'm a decent person, and I'm likeable enough, even though clearly you don't think so. Trying to be nice to everyone even when you don't feel like being nice isn't hypocrisy, it's part of being human. Hell, I was just trying to be nice to you, but you twist everything, so clearly you don't understand that and just - just fuck off, okay? Fuck off, you pretentious douchebag. Next time I'll know better. Don't worry, I won't ever talk to you again."

Somehow, they'd gotten to the point where they were talking too loud, and now there was silence surrounding them and Clint couldn't take it anymore - oh the burning shame in the pit of his stomach - so he just stood up and threw his bag over his shoulder and walked away as fast as he could, flicking his wand again without even looking, making Phil's book open violently at the right page and fly back to where it had been before he arrived, in front of its owner.

He didn't look back and just left the Great Hall where he left the hushed whispers of the other students, and the curious looks.


	4. Chapter Four

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow look at that ! Chapter 4 already ! I'm surprising myself... whatever. Thank you all guys for the reviews, kudos, favs and shit, you are all awesome. As usual, a new character gets introduced in this chapter ! And a lot get mentioned. It's mostly beta'd (thanks Alison !), and longer than all the others ! Hope you like it !

"So yeah, for our first match of the year, I was thinking of-"

"Sorry Buck, wait a minute - is that Clint almost running out of here looking like he's going to kill somebody!?"

"What the - yeah, it's him... well he's gone now but murder was definitely written in his steps..." noticed Bucky, somehow sounding admiring.

"This is kind of strange, he rarely..." Steve was at loss for words.

"Loses his shit in public?" Bucky completed. "True, I mean last time was when some Seventh Year Slytherins thought that it'd be funny to tell Natasha dumb, crude sex jokes, and even funnier to threaten her when she answered back and challenged them."

"Well, that time, we pretty much all teamed up against them so technically Clint wasn't alone. And they did deserve it," Steve said, a frown on his face. He'd been raised well (too well, if you asked Bucky) and couldn't believe that people actually behaved that way. "And this happened around last year so it was a while ago... I wonder what happened? Maybe we should go after him..." he wondered.

"Better to ask him if he wants to talk afterwards when he's not pissed anymore." said the other wisely. But suddenly, Bucky remembered."Steve! Oh fuck, I can't believe it. I don't even understand." He face-palmed.

"What?" Steve asked, all blond and confused.

"Well you know how I arrived a bit later than you? That's 'cause I stopped and talked to Clint on my way, and I remember now, he was looking for Coulson, and I'd seen him so I told Clint around where. Do you think he had a row with Coulson?" said Bucky, obviously having trouble to imagine such a thing.

"Well if he had lunch with him, then yeah, probably... but what was he doing with Phil!? They're polar opposites and I didn't even know they knew each other," said Steve.

"Well, of course they know each other but... yeah. I don't get it."

There was a pause.

"Hey, that reminds me," Steve began, "Phil's helping us for History of Magic and Potions tonight."

"I was hoping you would forget," Bucky winced.

"Maybe we should go see Phil now and ask him if tonight's still alright," Steve started thoughtfully. "If I had a row with you or Peggy, Merlin knows I wouldn't be in the mood to tutor anybody."

"Coulson's way too in awe of you to cancel on us. Where's Peggy anyway?" asked Bucky.

"Eating with Jane Foster and Thor, I think. But that's not-"

"-the point, I know." finished James. "You know how I keep saying you've been raised too well?"

"You never really stop..."

"Well, there you go: you've been raised too well. I really don't wanna go check on Coulson, which is a normal feeling, but you still manage to make me feel like an asshole next to you."

"Does that mean we're going?"

"Yeah, that mean we're going, Cap."

"Stop calling me that."

They got up, took their bags, and checked at the Ravenclaw table, but Coulson wasn't there anymore. Hoping to find him anyway, they walked down the Great Hall, went through the enormous wooden doors and into the Entrance Hall.

There he was... apparently lecturing Bruce and Tony on whatever they'd done this time. Loudly. And he looked cross.

Considering all of that, Steve, much to Bucky's joy, decided that it'd be better to assume that tutoring would go as planned. They had no reason to stay there any minute longer, and left for their first hour of class of the afternoon.

*~*~*~*~*

"Are you seriously telling me that your excuse is, "we just didn't wake up"!?"

"Yep, that's exactly what I'm saying," agreed Tony Stark, smiling.

"What about you, Banner?"

"What he said", he answered, shrugging. He felt a little nervous, but then again, he always felt a little nervous, and it wasn't the first time he was lying on behalf of, or with, Tony Stark. And this time, it wasn't even lying; they'd simply decided to erase the whole "strolling into the castle at night" thing.

Officially, they'd both overslept the whole morning, and nobody woke them up.

"And you both overslept?" Coulson said, clearly not buying it.

"Yep." Tony gave him his best shit-eating grin.

Coulson pinched the bridge of his nose.

"You know what, I don't even want to know the truth. Especially if the rumours are true. I've had enough shit for today anyway, I'm not in the mood for that."

Tony's grin got bigger and Bruce wanted to tell him to shut up because he just knew what was coming.

"Hooo, and would that have anything to do with... what's his name already? Clint Barton?"

"Fuck off, Stark," Coulson said violently.

"Haha! See, Bruce? Told you I'd recognized the voices. No but seriously, Coulson what happened!? Clint vanished, so I can't ask him. I haven't seen him that angry in ages, it's priceless. Lovers' quarrel?"

Coulson seemed on the verge of either pulling his wand out, insulting him, or running away. He breathed in deeply, clearly trying to calm himself, and finally:

"Your two hours of detention will be tomorrow and the day after, from 6 to 7 pm, in McGonagall's office. I don't know what she'll make you do, but you better be there."

Tony didn't seem to care.

"Why aren't you answering, Coulson? Mad that you've driven away your little crush?" Tony seemed to overly enjoy all of this, Bruce noticed. Maybe it was time to step in before Coulson punched Tony in the face.

"Let's go, Tony, we're going to be late to class," he simply said before dragging him by the wrist  
toward the huge marble staircase. Tony stopped him there.

"Goddamn it Banner, you suck!" he whined. "I almost made him lose it! One more minute or two and that would have been it! Why do you have to take away all my fun!?"

"He would've kicked your ass, if I'd let you there one more minute or two."

"I'm pretty sure I could take him anyway."

"Sure, Tony, sure," said Bruce distractedly. "We're going to be late if we don't hurry, we've got Divination, and it's at the other side of the castle, top of the North tower."

It took them ten minutes, Tony whining all the way up, and too many staircases, but finally they'd climbed past the spiralling staircase and had arrived on the class landing. He and Tony watched each other, sighed, and climbed the ladder (Bruce first, Tony had insisted).

Trelawney wasn't happy with them, but Bruce's apologetic attitude and shy, unsure smile, plus Tony behaving for once, made her accept them into her class.

(They were only 5 minutes late, but teachers at Hogwarts, much to their students' dismay, took tardiness very seriously.)

Ravenclaws had Divination with the Gryffindors. And all the round tables were taken. Bruce and Tony looked at each other and winced; for today, they'd have to share with other people.

They could've gone with Thor, they both liked him. He was very kind, and Tony found him hilarious because of his speech patterns (he spoke very pompously, the way they used to two or three centuries ago). The thing was, he was already sat besides Jane Foster, and it was no secret that these two had been tip-toeing around each other for a while, sappy smiles and all. And Tony and Bruce really didn't want to see that up close.

There was always Steve Rogers, Bucky Barnes and Peggy Carter, if it weren't that Tony really didn't like Steve. He found him way too old fashioned, boring and most of all nice. Everybody, including Bruce, liked Steve, and he just couldn't see why, and it bothered him to no end.

They'd started to despair when they spotted Pepper, in her Ravenclaw uniform, in the back, looking at them; she was alone, and they were saved. God bless Pepper, thought Bruce when he and Tony both went to sit down beside her. It was obvious that she'd waited for them.

The rest of the class was spent bullshitting what they could "see" in the crystal ball. It was the only way to pass the time during that class, really.

Then they had Charms, which was fun, and Herbology, which was even better (read: exciting because potentially dangerous). Tony and Bruce both took notice of the fact that Clint wasn't there during Herbology (they had it with Hufflepuff) and deduced that he probably didn't go to class at all during the afternoon.

"You know," began Tony as they were climbing the stairs up to the Ravenclaw Common Room "I really wonder what happened with Barton. I mean, not that I really care," Bruce rolled his eyes "but it's the first time he's made a true "Drama Queen Exit", so I really want to know."

"Let's go to his Quidditch practice, and we'll ask him afterward."

"Now why would we go to his Quidditch practice!?" Tony asked, faking surprise.

"Oh, stop asking that every time. We go there, sometimes, because it's better than to be stuck in our Common Room."

"Ugh, yeah, I can't stand those dorks and the looks they give us," said Tony with disgust, dropping the pretend.

"They're probably going to snob us because of last night," sighed Bruce.

"You know, I feel really blessed with you and Pepper whenever I walk in the Common Room."

"Well isn't that nice," Bruce said, ironically.

"I meant it as a compliment!" assured Tony.

"I was just kidding don't worry. Whatever, Let's put our bags in the Dormitory and then go outside."

They did, and hanged out a bit down by the Lake before making their way towards the Quidditch pitch.

They'd do that sometimes, he and Tony, go and see Clint fly. Usually, they weren't alone; Thor, Pepper and Natasha, and sometimes Betty Ross or Peggy Carter (or both) liked to come as well. In the end, it was a good place to chat.

As for Steve and Bucky, they never came, simply because they weren't allowed; they were on the Gryffindor team and therefore weren't allowed to "spy" on other teams.

Today, though, it was only them, Natasha and Pepper.

It was the beginning of October, and late afternoons were beginning to become chilly. Bruce had had the good sense to pick a sweatshirt, but of course Tony hadn't. ("Pfft, it's just the beginning of October, Bruce! Not mid-November! You're too sensitive, buddy.") Of course he was now whining and trying to bribe Bruce into giving him his sweatshirt. But Bruce was adamant, and in the end, Tony just decided to sit on the floor, his back to the bench, between Bruce's legs. Bruce rolled his eyes but said nothing, and soon they were back to cheering Clint whenever he was about to or had succeeded in catching the Snitch.

The training session went well; the Hufflepuff team these days were really good, and it was nice to just watch them soar in the air while talking.

After almost an hour and a half, the practice ended, and while Natasha and Pepper had decided to go back immediately to the castle (partly because it was time for dinner in the Great Hall, and partly because slowly but surely it was starting to get dark) Tony and Bruce had decided to wait for Clint. They got out of the pitch and were ready to walk toward the players' entrance when suddenly, Bruce nudged Tony in the arm.

"Is that Coulson over there?!"


	5. Chapter Five

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WOW ! Yeah I know, I took my time. Damn.. it's been a month, a MONTH, since I updated ! ugh. Well, good thing, I'm back. Second good thing, this is beta'd (again by the delicious Alison - HI THANK YOU !). Third good thing, I definitely know where I'm going. I've got the next 5 chapters planned.. I just need to get down to business. Also, hm. This chapter is basically a big flashback.. an excuse to write some Clint/Tasha broship. You know you want it. (I guess that means Tasha is now properly introduced. Tehe !) Enjoy ! (oh and thanks for the views, comments, kudos, ect you guys rock !)

Fly high. Feel the moment. Don’t think. Catch the Snitch.

Clint could hear his friends cheering from down in the stands. He hadn’t talked to any of them before Quidditch practice, but they'd come anyway.

The golden ball was right in front of him. He could do it. His fingers grazed it. The ball was gone. Not swift enough.

Yeah, except Natasha. He’d seen her. Or rather, she’d found him. She always seemed to.

He’d regretted walking out of the Great Hall the moment the huge wooden doors had closed behind him. It wasn’t like him, to do that kind of thing. He was in control. A perfectionist, really.

The circus had taught him that.

“Do not stop until you reach perfection.”

He loved Quidditch, but right now he really missed his bow.

He missed performing as Hawkeye, he missed being 10 years old, he missed familiarity... and Barney.

A golden flicker near the Keeper’s ankle. Clint sped that way.

Maybe the others planned on asking him what had happened today, after practice. He wasn’t ready for that. They just wouldn't understand - he wasn't sure he himself understood, so why would they?

Well, Natasha had seemed to, but he didn’t count her with them because she was different. Her relationship with him was different. It wasn’t even that kind of relationship, no, they just got each other. Nobody seemed to understand that though, judging by the rumour that was flying around that they were secretly dating. Well, to be fair, that particular rumour had been flying around for a while now... a couple of months, half a year by now? Something like that.

It had never been that way, though. They’d just always been that close, something weird, somewhere between really close friends, siblings, and a platonic couple. They’d never been fool enough to try a romantic relationship though, and it was probably better that way. Now that he thought about it, Clint realized that Pepper and Tony had the same kind of thing going on. Kind of. They’d been (and still were) great friends, but they’d tried a relationship and it had been a disaster, in the end. Lots of yelling. Some flames. Nothing much, indeed.

Their weird relationship wasn’t the same as Clint and Natasha’s, though. Clint didn’t really know how to phrase it; it was less secretive, less private, louder.

Similar but completely different. Human beings were complicated, the end.

She had found him in the Owlery, of course. She always knew where to find him. Once, Clint had asked her about it, and she’d just smiled that mysterious half grin of hers, and answered something like, “the hawk has its hiding places, and I know where they are”. He’d stuck her tongue out at her.

He smiled at the memory, almost caught the Snitch again, cursed. He just couldn't focus enough..

He liked heights, alright, and the owlery was just his ideal place. High, with a roof, though the walls were pierced so that the birds could come and go, and nobody there during the day. Oh, and Clint liked birds. But earlier today, even with a big, grey owl on his right shoulder and another, brown with piercing golden eyes and soft feathers, perched on his left knee he’d looked grim when she’d found him and sat beside him.

*~~*~~*~~* Hours ago *~~*~~*~~*

“You know who they belong to?” she simply asked.

He shook his head, negative. They’d sat in silence for a while, after that. She knew better than to ask him if he was okay, so she didn’t.

“Pepper said to me that she’d understand if you decided not to come in Herbology, but that she’d miss her partner anyway,” she announced after a while. “Even though apparently you always end up getting dirt all over her as well as yourself.”

Clint smiled slightly. “That was one time!” he protested, despite doing so somewhat weakly. “She’s right though, I’m probably not going to go to class this afternoon. I don’t feel academic most days, and today even less so. I’ll probably grab dinner in the kitchen as well so you’re in charge of telling her I appreciate her thoughts.”

Natasha nodded.

“I just want to avoid any more public drama, you know?” he sighed.

“Coulson’s a very private guy,” she shrugged.

“How do you even know it’s about him!?" he paused. "No, don’t answer that, it was rhetorical.”

“I wasn’t about to,” she deadpanned.

“I know. Who else knows it’s about him?”

“Steve and Bucky. Pepper. When I left the Great Hall, Tony Stark and Coulson were on the verge of arguing, I guess Stark was pushing his buttons again. I’d say you can probably add him and Bruce.”

“I’m not going to ask how you know that. But it’s impressive.”

“Are you afraid that you’ll accept his apologies the second he gives you them when he comes to you, or that he won’t come to you if you’re there?”

“I hate you.”

“Just doing my best to help,” she shrugged again.

“I know. Don’t worry.”

His left hand had somehow ended up on Natasha’s lap, and she was gently playing with it.

“You know, he probably doesn’t understand.”

“Hmm?” he said absently.

“Your helpless school-boy crush on him.”

He groaned and nudged her with his left shoulder. She gave him her best “what exactly do you think you’re doing” look. The grey owl on Clint’s right shoulder hooted and flew away.

“To him, it probably seems like you suddenly decided you were interested in him. Most people would find it weird. And yes, I know that your crush wasn’t ‘sudden’. But he probably doesn’t know what to make of you, that’s all." He nodded absently, pondering over what she said. "Now, tell me what happened,” she added.

He told her just that. She admitted she’d suspected something along those lines; they talked some more, but after a while she got up.

“You’re cute, Clint, but you’re totally tactless.”

“You’re tactless,” he mumbled. “I thought you’d come here to find out what happened, but turns out you know more about this situation than I do. How’s that even possible?”

She didn’t answer. “I’ve already skipped first period, but I can’t skip potions. So I’m going to leave you for an hour, and then we can go sit by the lake. Or hide behind a curtain on one of the windowsills of that one corridor on the Second Floor, and curse random Slytherins we don’t like.”

“You know you’re a Slytherin, right?”

“Doesn’t mean I like everyone. Plus, they’ll never suspect me.”

“You’re hopeless, you know that?” Clint grinned.

“Makes two of us, then” she grinned back mischievously. “I take it you’ll be waiting for me in one hour outside my classroom, then.” She almost left but instead crouched down in front of him and kissed him on the forehead. The soft brown owl flew away as well. “Don’t be late!” she added before leaving the Owlery in a flash of red, her hair contrasting with her black robe.

*~~*~~*~~*Present*~~*~~*~~*

He ended up catching the Snitch twice in the next half hour of practice. The second time had been either pure luck or pure genius - some kind of barrel roll he'd done while miraculously catching it.

Then for the last half hour of practice, his Team Captain had unleashed one of the Bludgers on him. The goal was, for Clint, to stay alive and, more important, still manage to catch the Snitch.

Slytherin tended to play that way, throwing Bludgers at Seekers if the end of the match was coming near and they hadn't gotten enough points, so it was good practice.

Clint gave everything he had, and by the end of it, Clint was, rightly so, exhausted. He couldn't think straight and at one point concluded that he probably wouldn't be able to do his homework tonight, because chances were he'd simply lie down on his bed and pass out from exhaustion.

He was slower than usual in the changing room, seeing everything through some kind of daze, and was the last to get out.

No one was there.

He shrugged, and made his way towards the castle, going straight to bed without going to dinner - he wasn't hungry anyway.


	6. Chapter Six

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys ! I'm back ! I'm not going to say that updates are going to be more regular now because let's face it my life is pretty much IRREGULAR as a whole. However I can assure you that there will be updates. I'm not letting go of that fic ! Okay so now that I've said that - thanks you all guys for the support ! Seriously, you all are amazing. I love you. And such. Now, on for the chapter ! A week has passed in the story since what happened last chapter. Enjoy ! (also MANY THANKS TO MY GLORIOUS BETA ! <3)

"But why is she here!?" repeated Tony again, loudly, while shooting daggers at Natasha.

"Stop saying that, Tony," sighed Pepper. "And stop looking at her like that! You said you wanted to study so we’re in the library-"

"Bruce wanted to study, I didn't - why did you bring her!?" he whined once more.

Natasha looked up from the parchment she was writing on.

"First of all, she didn't bring me, she asked me, and I said yes. Second, for someone who's supposed to be working you sure spend an awful lot of time whining and annoying Bruce," she said coolly before going back to what she was writing.

Bruce's head perked up at the mention of his name, briefly. He mumbled something like "I'm fine, really" before going back to his dusty old book and potions essay, shoulders hunched, notes sprawled all over the table (which was big enough for all of them despite that, bless him), face close to his paper.

Tony snorted. He was sat beside Bruce, and had his hand currently resting on the back of his chair. As for Natasha and Pepper, they were in front of them.

"You're mean and sneaky," he pouted to Natasha. "I'm not annoying Bruce - he loves me. Ask him."

His hand left the back of Bruce's chair for Bruce's neck. Bruce's hand swatted him away.

"Go away," he grumbled.

"That's not what you said last night!" replied Tony, extremely loudly, gazing at the ceiling. A fake innocent look was plastered all over his face.

Heads in the library turned towards them. There were some hushed whispers. Obviously everyone had heard that.

Bruce's head jerked up.

"Stop saying stuff like that!" he said, loudly as well. A slight blush was creeping up his neck. He ran a hand through his hair. Natasha and Pepper exchanged a meaningful glance. "It's - it's not even true! Why are you making stuff up!?

"You were ignoring me!"

"Of course I was, I was working!"

"And you're pretty when you blush," added Tony, smirking. "You didn't deny you loved me, though."

"If by me "loving" you then you mean me "putting up with you daily" then yeah I "love" you, sure. Pretty sure I'm the only one as well," said Bruce dryly.

"Honey, you always get dry when you're embarrassed. You definitely weren't dry last nigh-"

Tony was on the verge of ending his sentence when ink mysteriously splattered itself all over his shirt and face, leaving him gaping and unable to finish his sentence.

Natasha calmly put back her wand in her pocket. Magic was banned in the Library, but she was discreet - she'd slipped her hand under a heavy book to shoot the simple spell so as not to be spotted.

Tony, furious, looked directly at Natasha.

"What did you need to do that for!?"

"You looked like your ego had gotten a bit too big. Let poor Bruce work."

Tony, fuming, got his wand out as to perform a simple cleaning spell but right before he could...

"No magic in the library! Wands are forbidden here!" said Madame Pince, who'd gotten here out of seemingly nowhere.

"I was just going to clean myself-" started Tony.

"Out ! Out, young boy! I know your reputation; you should be ashamed of your behaviour. Clearly you were up to some mischief of yours! I will have none of this in here! Out, I said! Or I will report this to your Head of House!"

Tony had barely gathered his things and the librarian was already pushing him towards the exit. He silently pleaded for Bruce to come with him outside, but Bruce shook his head negatively. Tony sighed dramatically, and kicked the door on his way out.

Silence fell on the library once again. Madame Pince left Bruce, Natasha and Pepper, and went elsewhere - chastising unlucky students, ordering books around, going back to whatever she always does.

They looked at each other, all dumbfounded. Pepper and Bruce were looking confused (and yet slightly amused) and Natasha was, of course, smirking.

"Thanks, Nat.. well I guess.. that was something," Bruce commented after a while.

"Yeah... I don't think I'm ever going to get used to Tony getting kicked out of various rooms," acknowledged Pepper.

"It happens every so often these days, though..." said Bruce.

"Was it really necessarily to shower him with ink though, Natasha?" asked Pepper.

"It'll calm him down for a couple of hours - you saw how he was. And without you or Bruce nearby, he might actually do his Potions essay," shrugged Natasha.

"Or, more likely, he'll try that new hex he's been developing for the past few months on First Years," reasoned Bruce.

"Or he'll set a trap on one of the moving staircases," added Pepper.

"Or try and find Peeves and Merlin helps us if he actually does that," sighed Bruce.

"Is there anything he hasn't done!?" asked Natasha curiously. "You know him much more than I do..."

"If there is, he'll have this year plus the next two to do them," answered Bruce simply. Pepper nodded.

They stopped talking and went back to work. Without Tony to interrupt them, they all finished quickly enough, leaving them some time before dinner.

They gathered their things - quills, bottles of ink, parchments, and books- and stuffed them all in their bags, then got out of the library.

The comforting warmth of it was gone, replaced by the usual chill of the castle. It was mid October by now, rain was getting more common and the weather, colder. Nothing dramatic, but enough to predict a strong winter.

"So... what are we doing now?" asked Pepper.

(Bruce was secretly pleased that she used "we".)

"I need to find Clint to ask him about something... I think I'm going to try the Hufflepuff Common Room," said Natasha.

"If you don't find him there, he'll probably be already at the Feast," nodded Pepper.

"I'll catch you at the Feast anyway. Bruce, wanna tag along?" smiled Natasha.

Bruce smiled, memories rushing back to him. He, Clint and Natasha used to get along really well. There had always been untapped potential between them: they all were quiet, secretive - and most of all, caring, people. Admittedly, most people don't see that in Clint, but it didn't make it less true.

He'd gotten close to Tony only recently.. beginning of last year, when Tony had realized that Bruce's average grades were just Bruce downplaying his amazing potential. Then he'd started to find Bruce really interesting, and when Tony Stark wants to befriend you.. well you end up being friend with Tony Stark. It's that simple.

Nowadays, Tony was hogging most of Bruce's attention, all the time. Bruce definitely wasn't complaining, but sometimes he just felt as if he was neglecting... well... everybody else.

He knew it wasn't true, though - Clint and Natasha just didn't think like that.

Bruce smiled.

"Yeah, sure." he said.

"You can bring Tony if you want," Natasha added, as if she was reading his mind.

"I will," Bruce nodded.

Natasha kissed Pepper on the cheek (or was it the corner of the mouth? Bruce hadn't been particularly looking at them and couldn't be sure), ruffled Bruce's hair, and left.

Bruce liked quiet.

Pepper sat on the floor, her back to the stone wall. Bruce did the same.

"So..." started Bruce after a while. "You said about a week ago you needed to tell me something? It's been kinda hectic and we rarely get a moment of peace, let alone a moment of peace together at the same time, so..." he trailed off, nervous.

"Yeah..." she sighed. "I was going to tell you about that anyway." She stopped. "Listen, I don't know the good way to tell you this. I know it's been hard for you to let her go... but it's about Betty Ross. She asked me if there were any chances of you two getting back together and, well - I thought you should be aware that... she wants that. You. So. I'm just telling you." She stopped again, not knowing what to say.

Bruce looked blankly at the wall in front of him, seeing through the moving painting of a group of nuns.

"Well... isn't that... something," he tried hesitantly.

"I'm not going to tell Tony, don't worry," she said after a while.

Bruce wondered how and when they'd acquired a basic understanding of each other.

Of course Tony would be the first thing Bruce would think about after learning that his ex girlfriend wanted him back.

"Knowing him, he'll probably learn about it one way or another. I wonder if I shouldn't tell him myself..."

She put a hand on his shoulder.

"Not a good idea." she said, making Bruce sigh. "Remember Tony's reaction when she left you just before the beginning of summer?"

"Yeah... he got angry," Bruce sighed again.

"So... are you going to get back together with her?" she asked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Maybe it's a lame way to end a chapter but whatever, couldn't find another way to. To the regular reader (if there is any??) that might have noticed that Phil was initially spotted by Tony and Bruce waiting for Clint near the changing rooms at the Quidditch Pitch two chapters ago, but wasn't there when Clint actually left them one chapter ago - it's normal. Explanations next chapter !


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sooo sorry for the wait. I got lost. With the story. I had also lost my password, which didn't help I guess. Whatever - I'm back ! Also, this is un-betaed, and I feel compelled to remind you all that english is NOT my main language.  
> I hope you enjoy this chapter. No particular POV this time, and it might not seem plot-heavy, but I'm setting up some things for what happens next. Enjoy !

"Tell me you don't plan on us staying in the Common Room or worse, the Library."

"If you don't want to study, just go find Clint or Pepper and do whatever you usually do with them ; I'm staying there and possibly moving to the Library if need be this afternoon."

"But Bruce, it's Sunday !" cried out Tony.

"Exactly. And tomorrow's monday" he said a bit gruffly.

"Well look at you ! Aren't' you a cheery one, today" said Tony. "Come on, enjoy the moment ! It's Sunday afternoon, we're mid October, yet the sun is up and shining. And we're in England. This is, like, a miracle. Are you really going to let it go to waste ?"

They were sat in the Common Room, around a carved wooden table. Tony, feet propping up on the table, arms crossed, was facing Bruce, who was doing his ancient Runes homework he had to turn in on Tuesday. Tony, as usual, was doing nothing. No one, Bruce included, knew how he kept his grades up, the teen was simply never seen working.  
Well, Bruce knew that he was more of a nocturne person, but still.  
Tony got up, walked around the table, put both his hands on each side of the top of Bruce's chair, and rested his chin on Bruce's shoulder, who had stopped writing. Bruce turned his head and tried to ignore the lack of space between their faces, waiting for Tony to say something., seeming thoroughly unimpressed with his friend. They looked at each other for a few seconds.  
Finally, Tony said something, low to make sure only Bruce would hear it.

"Don't think that I don't know the moon's coming up in a week. I keep track of those things. Is it what's bothering you ?"

Bruce looked at the ceiling, trying to give nothing away despite his moodiness.

"You know I don't feel so good shortly before and after it. I'd rather stay confined in here and work than go outside." he admitted.

"It's not viral, Bruce. The others aren't gonna catch it just by being around you."

They both knew who he meant by the others. Pepper, Clint, Natasha, Thor, even (god forbid) Steve and Coulson, all those people who were by their side daily (granted not all at the same time all the time because it would get crowded), who didn't know about Bruce.

"I know," he sighed. "I can't help the feeling, you know ?"

Tony locked his arms around Bruce's neck, scooting closer.  
Bruce knew that it was a lost fight. And, even though he wouldn't admit it to Tony, he kind of wanted to leave the Common Room for a while.

"I still think we should go outside. We can find a wonderfully recluse place somewhere around the castle and just chill. Or hex people from afar. Or, if you're so keen on it, god i hate you, we could do our homework there."

Bruce said nothing. And since he didn't say no, his silence actually meant yes. 

So Tony did the obvious thing, really ; he started to pack Bruce's stuff in Bruce's bag despite Bruce's weak protests, took the bag and left the Common Room with it, ignoring Bruce's threats. He then proceeded to run down the flight of stairs of the Ravenclaw Tower, Bruce still after him, until he was in the main part of the castle. Out of breath he finally stopped, and got immediately smacked by Bruce.

"You're so fucking annoying, I don't even know why i put up with you most of the time", he said trying to look annoyed.

"You're smiling. Yeah that was a smile. Look, another ! Damn I'm good. Come on, that was fun. And you needed to get out."

"You suck."

"Now that I've lured you out of your den, let's go and find the others. Hey look, isn't that Pepper ?"

*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*

After half an hour or so of walking around the castle and a couple of enchanted paper balls thrown (curtesy of Tony), he, Natasha, Bruce, and Pepper were all just outside the castle, waiting for the others.

Said enchanted paper balls, regular paper balls with messages which, once enchanted and thrown, would get to their assigned receivers, were sent to Steve (Pepper's idea), Thor, and Clint.  
As for Natasha, she had found them quickly after Tony had finished to convince Pepper to come with him and Bruce. Because as usual she was around at the right moment. Which always creeped Tony out to no end. 

She'd told them that Clint was, to the surprise of exactly no one, flying on the Quidditch pitch, and that he'd probably join them as soon as he would get the message.  
If there was one thing he liked more than flying, it was, well, doing nothing in company of friends who were also doing nothing. Outside, of course.

"Good day to you, friends !" a booming voice thundered. It was Thor, of course. Steve just awkwardly waved hello at everyone - he didn't really look like he wanted to be there.

Bruce shushed Tony before he said anything mean to Steve and smiled kindly at him.

"So, Natasha, when's Clint coming exactly ? Not that I'm not happy hanging around Hogwarts' porch.." asked Steve after a while. She looked at her watch. 

"Well he must be on his way by now.. he'll be there in a couple of minutes, give or take. I'm kind of surprised Bucky isn't with you, by the way. We rarely see you without him"

"Much like we rarely see Thor without Jane" chirped in Tony, making Steve protest.

"Bucky and I are not in relationship, despite what you think, Tony. We're not like that."

"Sure thing, Steve." said Tony, looking unconvinced just to unnerve the Gryffindor. "Oh by the way, you got your girl yet, Thor ?"

"My lady and I are taking our time, such are her desires" answered (proudly) Thor.

"Not to change the subject, but does anyone know if Clint has sorted his shit out with Coulson yet ? It's been a couple of weeks already" mused Bruce

"I did not know that anything had happened between Clint and the Son of Coul.." muttered Thor.

"Yeah, lovers' quarrel, basically" answered Tony.

"Clint's going to do something about that situation soon, though." said Natasha, ignoring Tony's comment. "I'm probably going to have to make him, but it's going to happen."

"I did not know that Clint and the Son of Coul were currently pursuing a relationship" said Thor, sounding more and more confused.

"They're not together," said Steve, shooting daggers at Tony. "Not everyone is.. is.."

"What ? Raging homosexuals ? Closeted gays ? What were you trying to say ?" asked Tony.

"Oh shut up, Tony." said Bruce, pinching his friend's side.

"Yeah alright, alright. I was just joking." he finally said reluctantly. "Sorry, Roger."

Steve nodded and sighed, before looking at the park surrounding the castle and spotting something - more like someone.

"Clint's here" he simply stated.

True enough, Clint was walking towards them, his broom on his shoulder.

"Wow, looks like everybody was waiting for me.. sorry ! And thanks !" he smiled.

"Well, let's get moving. I've got the perfect, people-less zen spot" said Tony, winking at Bruce.

Obviously they weren't the only students wanting to enjoy the sun on a Sunday afternoon. Several groups of students were scattered all over the grass, playing with Fanged Frisbees or just talking. Some couples could be spotted as well, snuggled against each other.  
Most of the students were lying between Hogwarts and the Lake ; they walked past them all, sometimes greeted with a wave. Finally they settled for Tony's "spot" which was more on the west side of the grounds, uphill. They were close to the lake, and on a near hill the infamous Whomping Willow could be seen as well.

Tony and Bruce, as usual, looked like they were conspiring something. Nobody knew what. Nobody ever knew what they talked about when they were like that. For all the others knew, it could have been about one big project all along ; or each time they were conversing about something different. They suspected that they just gossiped sometimes, but did so privately ; partly because that way Tony would piss no one off if no one else heard him. But all in all, they didn't have a clue what it was all about.

"What the fuck are you guys even talking about ?" asked Clint after a while, curious about the hushed whispers between those two. He had been talking to Thor and Steve animatedly about Quidditch but curiosity had gotten the best out of him. As for Natasha and Pepper, they were busy together as well - Pepper was trying to teach Natasha a charm the redhead didn't get.

Tony and Bruce stopped talking, and Tony simply answered a "None of your business" while Bruce muttered a "Sorry". They went back to their thing. Clint went back to its Quidditch conversation.

"So, guys, Gryffindor vs Slytherin next saturday, right ?"

"Yeah.. first match of the season, first year for me as a Captain" sighed Steve.

"Come on don't look like that ! You'll do great ! Of course you're going to beat them."

"Well I hope so.." Steve still didn't look convinced.

"You have a great team and you're a great leader, of course you're going to win. Why do you think so many people just call you "Cap", by the way ? It's because you're a natural leader." Clint clapped him on the shoulder, smiling.

"I agree with the Hawkeye !" boomed Thor. "You are indeed a true Captain and I am sure that you shall lead our team to victory !"

Steve smiled. "Yeah, I guess I can do this."

"A true warrior spirit !" agreed Thor.

"Well, you better win, anyway" began Clint "Because we're not going to throw a party in the Slytherin Common Room, and I really really want a party right now."

"You just want to get drunk." deadpanned Steve.

"No I don't. Okay, maybe I do." winked Clint.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

"I don't understand how I can master so quickly aggressive and defensive spells while I can barely perform useless, simple charms" sighed Natasha.

"Well if you think of it this way.. at least pretend you care about it ?"

"I do care about it. I don't want to fail my OWLs."

"Come on. Try to change the color of something."

"Coloravia !" she said, making a moderately intricate flick of her wand. Absolutely nothing changed. "I hate not being able to get the hang of this."

"A true perfectionist" smiled Pepper. "I don't think you have the wand flick right, though. The movement is too small ! And your arm is all tensed up. Come on, try again."

"Coloravia !"

"What did you try to change this time ? Do you even try ? I seriously wonder."

"Never mind that. Time to make a pep talk." she smiled slyly at her friend. "Hey, Clint !" she said loudly, capturing her friend's attention. "Remember when you said you'd talk to Coulson to clear things up ?" "I do ?" "Well now's your time."

"What is he even doing here !?" Clint asked.

"Who cares ? Go and talk to him before I have to Repulso your ass to him" she said, getting her wand out.

He mumbled something in his teeth, got up, grabbed his broom and walked toward the Ravenclaw Prefect.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clint finally does something about his Coulson situation.   
> The story then skips to about one week later, it's finally the awaited Gryffindor/Slytherin Quidditch encounter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> well the delay wasn't too long now was it ? Just kidding, it totally was..  
> I'm neck deep in exams right now and I found that writing calms me down & helps me rest my mind when taking studying-breaks. So here it is. (unbeta'd oops)  
> I really wanted to just write the Coulson/Clint scene, the Quidditch one and the party but.. yep. Couldn't help the last scenes. Sorry not sorry ! Enjoy !

If Coulson had seen him coming, he'd made no sign of it and had kept walking. Clint eventually caught up with him, broom on the shoulder, and they walked together at a brisk pace, Coulson making no effort to start the conversation.

"So, where are we going ?" Clint asked after a while.

"Quidditch Pitch. I've got to talk to the Ravenclaw Quidditch Captain about something, but he and his team are practicing right now"

"Oh yeah, they were training same time I was."

Silence fell again.

"Look, I'm sorry." Clint began. "About being an asshole and all that."

Was he supposed to do something more ? Apologize again, maybe ? Clint didn't really know. He usually pissed off people he didn't care about, so he wasn't used to making amends.

"I guess it's always nice to know that you're aware of it" said Coulson humorously "I guess we just rubbed each other the wrong way that day. And I wasn't exactly in a good mood either."

"Yeah you were.. worrying about a school thing. A test ?"

"Among other things, yes."

"Care to elaborate ?"

"Not really. I mean I'm really not supposed to. Prefect stuff."

"Ohh, classified business ? Let me guess. Someone's been rummaging through Filch's effects again ? Or Director Fury's. Or some books have been missing from the Restricted Section."

"I'm not even going to ask how you know that, for my own good. And so I won't have to report you to Fury again."

"How nice of you, boss."

Coulson smacked him in the arm.

"You stop that." he said with a slight grin.

Silence fell again - but a companionable one, this time. They'd almost gotten to the Quidditch pitch.

"So, are we good ?" said tentatively Clint.

"Yeah, sure." Coulson said absently. "Okay, now, listen ; here's the Quidditch Pitch entrance ; you're not going farther than here. Wait for me or go back the others as you want, but I don't want you spying on me, so you're definitely not coming in, sorry."

"I don't spy !"

Coulson raised an eyebrow.

"I… intentionally listen. Occasionally." admitted the Hufflepuff.

"Call it whatever you want, Barton. Just remember I can give you detention."

"Alright, on second thought, I'll just wait for you here."

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*- one week later -*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

"Come on guys, we want the best seats in the Gryffindor tribune remember !" yelled Tony.

A lot of people were already waiting in front of the Quidditch stadium's gates. It was the first match of this year's season, and it was heavily awaited. Gryffindor versus Slytherin no less, and everybody knew those two teams up against one another always made for the most interesting matches.  
The teams were getting ready in the changing rooms, and the other students were eager to go past the gates and take their seats. Some started to push around, as people always do when stuck in a crowd.

Bruce was clinging onto Tony's arm.

"I'm not sure this is a good idea !" he said loudly to be heard over the noise.

"It will be fun !" Tony answered equally loudly.

Holding onto Tony's other arm was Pepper, who didn't want to get lost in the crowd either. Near them were Natasha and Clint, Coulson, and Thor, along with his "Warriors Three", Jane and Peggy Carter. All of them had come early to get the best seats possible and were waiting near the gates.

Which finally opened. Students started rushing into the stadium, nothing too violent to Bruce's relief. He and the others went along with the flow of young wizards and quickly enough they ended up in the Gryffindor tribune, right against the railing, with pretty much the best view they could have hoped for.

Natasha, wisely, had borrowed Clint's Hufflepuff scarf instead of donning her Slytherin one which wouldn't have been received well there, understandably enough. The others were sporting their own colours, although Coulson had a little Gryffindor flag someone had randomly given him.   
Always the fanboy, Tony had whispered to Bruce, which had earnt him a tut and a smirk.

The players got out of their changing rooms and walked on to the middle of the pitch. Madam Hooch was referring as usual, and was waiting for the two teams.

"And now we can see the two captains shaking hands ! On one side, the lead chaser, beginning his fifth year at Hogwarts, Gryffindor's captain and star player - Steve Rogers !" Cheers and applauses erupted from the crowd. The commentator continued. "On the other side, Johann Schmidt, for Slytherin, also playing for lead chaser !" Cheers and applauses from the Slytherin crowd. "Now, this is the first game of the season - and could the weather be anymore perfect ? The air is crisp and the sun is up ! And-"

Right at that moment, Madam Hooch gave a blast on her whistle, effectively shutting up the commentator. And just like that, the game was on.

The Quaffle was magically thrown up high into the air, and the fifteen players kicked off the ground.

"And it's Slytherin who gets the Quaffle first, thus beginning the encounter ! Schmidt, who avoids Bucky - sorry I mean Barnes - and passes on the Quaffle to Stewart ! Back to Schmidt ! Flying towards the Gryffindor Goal Post ! Aaaand I guess he's feinting because he's too far to - nope, he wasn't, and he scored ! First 10 points for Slytherin !"

"Well the first 10 points don't mean anything, but still, fuck that shit !" said Clint, throwing his arms up in the air.

"Hear, hear, friend !" approved Thor loudly.

"And now Gryffindor's got the Quaffle ! Tracy to Barnes, Barnes to Rogers, Rogers now speeding towards the Slytherin Goal Post, with the three Slytherin Chasers coming his way and - and - okay, this Slytherin player almost knocked himself off his broom trying to attack Rogers, damn this guy's a rock, other two Slytherin chasers coming from behind Rogers since he's faster than them.. and the Quaffle went right through the 30ft high hoop, 10 points for Gryffindor !"

The whole stadium (except for the Slytherin crowd) beamed.

"Now that's what I'm talking about !" Clint smiled. "I've got to admit, I wouldn't mind Rogers being on the Hufflepuff team, it would be nice to have at least one good chaser for once.."

During the next twenty minutes, Gryffindor scored another 50 points while Slytherin got to a total score of 40. The game became more ferocious ; both teams were heavily set on winning. Collisions gained in frequency, often initiated by the Slytherin players.

"60 to 40 for Gryffindor ; Gryffindor Keeper Jon Kelley just blocked in extremis a shot and has now thrown the Quaffle back to Barnes.. who's now in a sandwich between Captain Johann Schmidt and Stew.." the Slytherin part of the stadium laughed. "Okay, I did NOT want to say that like that Professor McGonagall I'm so, so sorry - yes, okay, back to the match, Barnes' still stuck between the two Slytherin players Schmidt and Stewart and now the third Chaser is speeding towards him ! This doesn't seem very.... ouch, that must have hurt. Schmidt's got the Quaffle now, is probably going to score.. and.. yes he did. Barnes' currently trying to get back on his broom, Rogers' flying to the rescue, leaving only one Gryffindor chaser against three.. okay.. they're good, but Slytherin's scored again in the meantime. 60 to 60 ! You can say all you want about the Slytherins, but they sure do get their points across."

Clint, Coulson and the others vehemently disagreed to that last comment.

Bruce tugged on Tony's arm, trying to catch his attention. When that failed, Tony being completely engrossed in the game, Bruce just basically yelled in his ear that he was leaving before pushing his way out of the crowd, ignoring the outraged "who are you", "what are you doing here", "get out of my way" and "why are you leaving !?" from other students.   
He didn't bother checking wether Tony was following or not until he was outside the Quidditch stadium.  
True enough, Tony arrived a few seconds later… followed by Pepper and Natasha.

"Is something wrong, Bruce ? One minute you were here and then you weren't and Tony was almost running after you." Pepper said worriedly.

"I wasn't running after him" Tony tried to protest.

"Yes you were' just said Natasha, who was eyeing expectantly Bruce.

"Whatever. You okay ?" Tony said, turning to him.

"Yeah I'm fine. I, uh.. I didn't feel too good. No need to be worried, Pepper" he smiled lamely.

"You sure ?" she asked, clearly concerned.

Natasha was still watching him. Their eyes met for a few seconds, something passed between them. She turned to Pepper, lightly put her hand on her shoulder before saying something to her ear in a low tone.

"Yeah. Well" Pepper began, talking to them. "We're going back to watch the end of the game." an implied -and leave you two alone- was left hanging in the air. "See you later, boys" she smiled before turning around and leaving with Natasha at her side.

"She knows" immediately said Bruce.

"Who knows what ?" asked Tony, clearly distracted by something else. "Hey, don't you think that Natasha and Pepp are getting a little too close ?"

"I don't know. I don't think so." Bruce answered, sparing his friend's feelings when really he was thinking the same thing.

Tony kicked was kicking the grass, deep in thoughts.

"Tony, I think Natasha knows."

"Knows about what ?"

"You know what I'm talking about."

"I'm gonna be honest here, I think she might know." When Bruce didn't particularly react, he continued. "Well, she seems to know everything about everyone, which is exactly why I don't like her. So it's not a surprise, really." Tony paused. "Do you want me to confront her about it and then threaten her with horrible things ? Because I can do that."

"SLYTHERIN SEEKER ALMOST CAUGHT THE SNITCH ! WOW, THAT WAS CLOSE !" boomed the amplified commentator's voice.

"Do you want to go back to the match ?" answered Bruce instead.

"Don't change the subject on me, Big Guy."

"Don't bother, I'll confront her myself one day or another, if she doesn't do it first."

"You sure ?" 

"Yeah. I need to deal with my things on my own." Bruce said, starting to think about Betty and how he was going to deal with that.

Tony sat in the grass and Bruce followed, their shoulders touching.

"Anything you care to share ?" Tony asked, looking at the Quidditch stadium and following with his eyes the occasional player who would fly high enough for him to see.

Bruce considered telling him. Really. But now was not the time.

"Nah. Not really."

"So what was earlier about ? You leaving the game and all" tried to ask casually Tony.

"Just as I told Pepper, I didn't feel good. You know, I'm not always hiding things from the others just so I can tell you later" he joked.

Tony shoved him a bit with his shoulder.

"You're such a liar. You're like, the most secretive person I know."

"Really ? I thought I was an open book for all to read."

"Ha, ha. Dry humor. But you're not phasing me, sweetheart." he said, pulling his most condescending face. Finally, a smile broke through and he gave up on his grimace. "Here, come lie down a bit."

Bruce looked at him questioningly ; Tony patted his legs. Bruce nodded, shifted a bit, laid down sideways to Tony and came to rest his head on his legs. 

"I'm taking you don't want to go back to watch Steve ?" Bruce said ironically.

Tony snorted.

"No, not really. I mean don't misunderstand me, he's a perfectly nice guy and I don't hate him that much despite everything I say. But I don't care that much for the game, you know me, I just like to watch people fly."

He tentatively ran his hand through Bruce's hair. Yep, it was every bit as satisfying as Tony thought it would be. Bruce hummed as Tony kept going.

"So, I take it you're still dead set on that project then ?"

"Yeah. Brooms still suck, and I am still going to find an alternative, one day."

One of his hand was now entangled in Bruce's curls, playing him, soothing him.

"Hmm. You know I'm going to fall asleep if you keep doing that, right ?" muttered Bruce. "And that we're outside and-" Tony's other hand muffled his mouth, stopping him before he could end his sentence.

"Don't worry, if you fall asleep, I'll wake you up as soon as the game ends and we'll leave before anybody sees us." Tony said quickly. "And I'm only doing that so you rest and still have some energy left for the party at Gryffindor's tonight. Because of course Gryffindor is going to win. I'm so good at plans." he paused. "I can't believe I'm taming a wild werewolf right now."

He removed his hand from the other's mouth right before Bruce tried to bit him.


End file.
